Lounge chair



D60- 12, 1967 E. M. KNABUSCH ETAL 3,357,739

LOUNGE CHAIR 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 25, 1966 ,far w mad N W Nfm wf J w Dec- 12, 1967 E. M. KNABuscH ETAL 3,357,739

LOUNGE CHAIR 6 Sheets-Shee 3 Filed April 25, 1966 Dec- 12, 1957 E. M.KNABuscH ETAL 3,357,739

LOUNGE CI'IAIR 6 Sheets-Shee': Z

Dec. 12, 1967 E. M. KNABuscH ETAL 3351739 LOUNGE CHAIR Filed April 25,1966 6 Sheetsfshee''V 4 Dec- 12, 1967 E. M.\KNABuscH ETAL 3,357,739

LOUNGE CHR Filed April 25, 1966 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 DeC- 12; 1967 E. M.KNABuscH ETAL 3,357,739

LOUNGE CHAIR 6 Sheets-Sheet P,

Filed April 25, 1968 United States` Patent O 3,357,739 LOUNGE CHAIREdward M. Knabusch and Edwin J. Shoemaker, Monroe, Mieli., assignors toLa-Z-Boy Chair Company, Monroe, Mich., a corporation of Michigan FiledApr. 25, 1966, Ser. No. 545,133 16 Claims. (Cl. 297-69) ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE In general, the type of chair to which the present inventionrelates is one having a back and seat movable from an upright sittingposition to a 'reclining position, and a leg rest movable from aretracted position to an extended position where it supports the userlslegs. More particularly, the chair back is adapted to swing downwardlyand rearwardly and the seat shif'ts upwardly and forwardly from anormal, sitting position to a more comfortable, reclining position. Theleg rest is independently movable from a retracted, inactive positionbeneath t-he chair seat to an upward and forwardly extended positionwhere it elevatingly support-s the users legs in either the sitting orreclining position.

Background of the nventon This invention relates generally to loungechairs, and particularly to an improved reclining chair having anextendable leg rest.

In one popular version of this type of lounge chair, the retracted legrest and the linkage mechanism movably su'pporting the leg rest areconcealed by chair frame side panels which reach substantially to thefloor. However, some modern decorating sc-hemes make it desirable thatthe chair be styled of-the-floor or, in other words, that the chairembody exposed legs supporting the chair frame up otf the floor. Thelatter chairs do not have deep side panels so that a conventionallinkage mech'an-ism would present an unsightly appearance in that t'heywould be largely exposed for view below the bottom of the frame.Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, the leg rest in theseprevious chairs retracts only to a substantially Vertical positionbenea'th the front portion of the chair seat. Were this arrangement usedin the referred to modern chairs, the re'tracted leg rest would destroythe clean line appearance thereof. Thus, a strong need exists for animproved leg rest and leg rest linkage mechanism for modern loungechairs of the type referred to wherein neither the retracted leg restnor the linkage mechanism therefo-r a-re eX'posed in an unsightly mannerand the overall chair appearance is clean and aesthetically pleasmg.

Summary o the invention The chair of the present invention provides aclean styling and pleasant appearance and is relatively easy tomanipulate so that even when these chairs are fully reclined, theoccupant can shift the chair seat and back to the sitting positionwithout exerting a great deal of force. For off-the-floor lounge chairs,the leg rest linkage and back and seat mechanism are substantiallyconcealed when said leg rest is re-tracted and the overall chairappearance is clean and aesthetically pleasing. The reclining back andforwardly movable seat is smooth in operation, easy to manipulate in anyposition, is light in weight, is rugged in construction and relatvelyinexpensive to manufacture.

Brief descriptn o the drawngs lFI'GURE 1 is a perspective viewillustrating a lounge chairhembodying the present invention and shown inICC` the normal, sitting position and with the leg rest retracted;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan, sectional View of the chair of FIG. lillustrating the supporting and mo'tivating linkage construction of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of FIG. 2 taken along the line 3-43 thereof;

PIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 3 taken Within thecircle 4;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of FIG. 2 taken along t'he line 5-5thereof;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of FIG. 2 taken along the line 6-6 thereof;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of FIG. 2 taken along the line 7-7 thereof; V

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of FIG. 9 taken along the line 8-8 thereof;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the chair back and sealt in areclining position and the leg rest extended;

FIG. ll) is a perspec't'ive view illustrating a portion of the link'ageas positioned in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an exploded view of the linkage system for supporting theback and seat as illustrated in F-lG. 9, and

PIG. 12 is a view in continuation of the linkage svstem of FIG. 11 forsupporting the foot rest.

Description o the preerred embodiment Broadly described, the presentinvention includes a lounge chair having a seat, back and leg rest,first linkage means supporting said leg rest for m'ovement of said legrest from a retracted position tucked under said seat to an extendedposition spaced forwardly and upwardly therefrom, said first linkagemeans constructed to maintain said leg rest nearly parallel to itselfthroughout its movement.

|In addition, the present invention includes a lounge chair comprising,a lbase, a seat and a back, linkage means supporting vsaid seat an-dback for conjoint movement relative to said base from a sit'tingIposition to a reclining position where said seat and back are spacedupwardly and forwardly, and downwardly and rearwardly, respectively fromsaid sitting position, said linkage means including crank'means pivotedon said base,rsaid cr'ank means pivoting from a first to a secondposition against the weight of an occupant seatedy on said sealt duringmovement of said seat and back to said reclining position, said crankmeans pivoting 'from said second to said rst position and being assisted'by the weight of said occupant during movemen't of said seat and backto said si'tting position.

Refer-r'ing now more specifically to the drawings, a lounge chairembodying the present invention is shown generally at 2-1 in IFIGS. 1an-d 3 and is seen to include a base frame 2'3 comprising a pair of sidemembers 25, 27 each of which is fixed to a pair of upstanding front andrear posts 29, 31. A rear rail 33 extends between and rigidlyin-terconnects the rear posts -31 and a cross rail 32 interconnects Itheside members '25, 27. Front and rear legs 35, 37 Whic'h 'are fixed to orform a part of the posts 29, 31, respectively, depend therefrom andelevatingly support the base frame 2'3 off the floor. The upper ends ofeach pair of front and rear posts 29, 31 may be interconnected by armrests (not shown) and 'the arm res'ts, the posts 29, 3'1 and the sidemembers 25, 27 may be covered and finished as shown in FIG. 1. Sutablereinforcing members may be used to rigidify the joints between theinterconnected frame members as is customary.

An interconnected chair back and seat 39, 41 are supported 'upon thebase frame 23 for m'ovemen-t from an upright si'tting position as seenin FIGS. 1-3, to a reclining position as seen in FIG. 9. The chair back39 is seen to include a rectangular frame having side rails 43, 45interconnected by a top rail (not shown) and a bottom rail 47. Each ofthe side rails 43, 45 is supported on the base frame 23 by a linkagewhich comprises a generally S- shaped lever 49 fixed to the side rails43, 45 by screws 51 and connected by a pivot '3 to an arm 55 fixed toeach of the rear posts 31 by screws 57. Thus, the chair back 39 canswing relative to the base 23 about a horizontal axis passing throughthe pivots 53 between the positions illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 9.

The seat 41 comprises a pair of side rails 59, 61 inter' connected byfront and rear rails 63, 65. The seat 41 is interconnected wtih thechair back 39 by a pair of brackets 67 fixed to the seat side rails 59,61, respectively, by screws 69 and connected by pivots 71 to anintermediate portion of the levers 49, respectively. The lower end ofeach lever 49 is connected by pivots 73 to a rear end of a pair of links75, the forward ends of which are connected to one arm of a pair of bellcranks 77, respectively, by pivots 79. The other arm of each bell crank77 is connected by a pivot S0 to an arm 81 fixed to each of the baseside members 25, 27 by screws 82.

When the chair back 39 swings rearwardly or in a counterclockwisedirection, as seen in FIG. 3, the levers 49 swing in a counterclockwisedirection about the pivots 53 and move the links 75 forwardly to pivotthe bell cranks 77 also in a counterclockwise direction about the pivots80 to the position shown in FIG. 9. The vertexes of the bell cranks 77are pivoted by bolts 83 to one end of a pair of curved levers 85, theother ends of which are connected by pivots 87 to a pair of mountingbrackets 89 fixed to the seat side rails 59, 61, respectively, by screws91.

Thus, counterclockwise movement of the S-shaped levers 49 about thepivots 53 causes the rear end of the seat 41 to swing upwardly andforwardly by virtue of the pivot connections 71 with the brackets 67fixed to the seat side rails 59, 61. In addition, the links 75 moveforwardly with counterclockwise movement of the levers 49 causing thebell cranks 77 to turn in a counterclockwise direction about the pivots80, as seen in FlG. 3. This, together with the upward and forwardmovement of the seat 41 caused by the levers 49 acting on the brackets67 through the pivots 71 causes the crank vertexes and the levers 85 toswing upwardly and forwardly against the weight of an occupant seated inthe seat 41. This prevents the chair from reclining too rapidly andgives the occupant the necessary feel for comfortable use. The result isthat the seat 41 is translated upwardly and forwardly from the positionillustrated in FIG. 3 to that illustrated in FIG. 9. When rearward forceis applied to the seat 41, it returns to the FIG. 3 position, movingdownwardly and rearwardly in reverse fashion to that described above.This movement is assisted by the weight of the occupant seated in theseat 41 acting downwardly on the levers 85 and on the vertexes of thecranks 77. 'Ibis crank movement acts rearwardly on the links 75 andswings the levers 49 in a clockwise direction about the pivots 53 toreposition the chair back 39 as shown in FIG. 3.

A leg rest, indicated generally at 93 includes a leg rest panel 94supported for movement from a retracted position shown in FIG. 3, to anextended position shown 'in FIG. 9. According to the present invention,the leg rest panel 94 is movable independently of the position of theback 39 and seat 41 and when retracted, is beneath and nearly parallelto the chair seat 41. Furthermore, the panel 94 along with thesupporting and motivating linkage mechanism therefor is essent-iallyconcealed beneath the seat 41 and within the base frame 23 when the legrest is retracted so that the chair has a clean line and aestheticallypleasing appearance.

The leg rest panel 94 is movably supported by a pair of linkages 95, 97,one on either side of the chair seat 41 (FIG. 2). Although the linkage95 is reversed with respect to linkage 97,'the two are in all otherrespects -identical so that a description of linkage 97 will suflicehere.

It is to be understood that like numerals in the drawings refer to likeparts in linkage 95.

The linkage 97 includes a primary lever 99 connected at one end to thebracket 89 by a pivot 101. The other end of the primary lever 99 isprovided with a slot 103 having lateral edges 104, 106 loosely receivinga tab punched out of a secondary lever 107 connected to the primarylever 99 behind the slot 103 by a pivot 109.

A pair of scissor links 111,113 are connected by a pivot (FIG. 3). Thelink 111 is connected at one end to the secondary lever 107 by a pivot117 while the link 113 has one end pivotally carried by the pin 87 onthe bracket S9. The other ends of the scissor links 111, 113 areconnected to one end of a bell crank 119 and one end of a lever 121 bypivots 123, 125, respectively. The bell crank 119 has its vertexconnected to the lever 121 by a pivot 127 and its other end connected toone end of a short link 129 by a pivot 131. The other ends of the shortlink 129 and lever 121 are connected by pivots 133, 135, respectively,to a bracket 137 fixed to the leg rest panel 94 by screws 141.

In` use, when the primary lever 99 of linkage 97 is turned in acounterclockwise direction about the pivot 101 as seen in FIG. 3,identical turning movement is imparted to primary lever 99 of l-inkage95 by a generally U-shaped bar 140 fixed to the primary levers 99 byscrews 142. Both linkages 95, 97 act identically therefore and again adescription of linkage 97 will suffice. Thus, the primary lever 99transmits a similar turning motion to the secondary lever 107 throughthe pivot 109 and the tab 105. This, in turn, swings the scissor link111 in a forward or right-hand direction and the scissor link 113 turnsin a counterclockwise direction about the pivot 87 as seen in thefigure. The scissor action of the links 111, 113 is transmitted to thelever 121, the bell crank 119 and the short link 129 to translate thebracket 137 on the leg rest panel 94 from the position shown in FIG. 3to a generally horizontal, extended position disposed outwardly andupwardly therefrorn as seen in FIG. 9 where another tab 144 punched outof the secondary lever 107 engages an edge 146 on the scissor link 111.During this action, the leg rest panel 94 does not turn to any greatextent but remains nearly parallel to itself and a significantly smallmotivating force is needed to effect leg rest manipulation.

With the parts 'in the position shown in FIG. 9, the edge 104 of slot103 is engaged with the tab 105 and the arrangement of the pivot 101 forthe primary lever 99 and the pivot 117 is in over toggle relationship tothe pivots 109 and so as to lock the leg rest in this position. When theprimary lever 99 is turned in a clock- Wise direction from the positionseen in FIG. 9, it pivots slightly with respect to the secondary lever107 about the pivot 109 until the edge 106 of the slot 103 engages thetab 105. Continued turning movement of the primary lever 99 in thisdirection moves the secondary lever 107 and pivot 117 downwardlytherewith and breaks the toggle relationship between the pivots 109 and125 and thereafter the leg rest panel 94 is easily returned to theretracted position shown in FIG. 3 Where the tab 144 on the secondarylever 107 engages another edge 148 on the scissor link 111.

By providing a lost-motion connection formed by the slot 103 and tab 105in the primary lever 99 and secondary lever 107 so that the primarylever 99 can pivot slightly relative to the secondary lever 107 and theslot edge 106 can thereafter act downwardly on the tab 105, the forceavailable to break the toggle relationship between the pivots 101, 117is `greatly increased and the required combined effective length of thelevers 99, 107 is considerably less than it would be were only a singlelever used between pivots 101, 117. This is important since now thelower end of the secondary lever 107 protrudes only slightly if at allbelow the base frame 23 when the leg rest 93 is retracted (FIG. 3) andcannot be seen by anyone either sitting or standing in a room in whichthe chair is located.

Means is provided to take up slack in the leg rest linkages 95, 97 andresiliently hold the leg rest panel 94 in both the retracted andextended positions illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 9. To this end, a pair ofgenerally C-shaped links 143 each has one end thereof attached to adepending ear 145 on respective ones of the primary levers 99 by pivots147. The other end of each link 143 has one end of a tension spring 149hooked thereto, the other end of which is anchored to a respective oneof the brackets 67.

When the leg rest panel 94 is retracted, as seen in FIG. 3, the Springs149 exert a rearward or left-hand directional pull on the links 143tending to turn the primary levers 99 about the pivots 101 in aclockwise direction as seen in the figure. Force components aretransmitted through the linkages 95, 97 to take up any slack therein andthe leg rest is resiliently held tightly in this retracted position.Also, when the leg rest panel 94 is extended as shown in FIG. 9, thesprings 149 again pull rearwardly on the links 143, this time tending toturn the primary levers 99 in a counterclockwise direction about thepivots 101. Force components now transmitted through the linkages 95, 97resiliently hold the leg rest panel 94 in this extended position.

As described above, it is imperative from an appearance standpoint thatthe linkages 95, 97 be concealed within the chair base 23 and not hangtherebelow sufficiently where they can be seen. In addition to theprimary and secondary lever arrangement 99, 107 described above, the legrest linkages 95, 97 are supported by the seat 41 through the brackets89 instead of by the chair base frame as is common in the prior art.This elevates location of the entire llinkages 95, 97 within the baseframe 23 so that they then protrude only slightly below the frame 23 andare not visible to anyone either sitting or standing in a room in whichthe chair is located. The linkages 95, 97 are manipulated by turning ahandle 153 convenient'ly located along the side of the chair 21. Themanipulating handle necessarily is turnably supported by the base frame23 and in order to transmit movement from the handle 153 to the linkages95, 97, a novel universal driving linkage indicated generally at 151interconneets the handle 153 and the linkage 97.

The manipulating handle 153 is secured by a pin 155 to a tubular shaft157 rotatably supported in the base frame rail 25 by a bushing 159extending through an opening 161 in the rail 25 and held in place by acollar 163 and screws 165. A pair of nylon bearings 167, 169 is pressedin the ends of the bushng 159 and engages the shaft 157 to permit easyturning movement thereof. A trim collar 171 may be provided between thelouter face of the base frame rail 25 and the handle 153.

The inner end of the tubular shaft 157 is crimped to snugly receive afolded mid-section of a pin 172 having its outer ends 173, 175 extendingoutwardly in diametrically opposed relation to the axis of the tubularshaft 157. If desired, the tube 157 and the folded pin section are spotwelded. A primary transmission shaft 177 is disposed in general axialalignment with the tubular shaft 157 and similarly has one end thereofcrimped to snugly receive a folded mid-section of a pin 178 having itsouter ends 179, 181, extending outwardly in diametrically opposedrelation to the aXis of the shaft 177. The outer ends 173, 175 of thepin 172 are coplanar with and angularly offset 90 relative to the outerends 179, 181 of the pin 178 and are interconnected in spoke-likerelation by a clip 183. The clip has four, radially extending,cylindrical openings 185 therein, each one being angularly offset 90relative to adjacent ones of the openings and slidably receiving arespective one of the outer ends 173, 175, 179, 181 of the pins 172, 178so that the tubular shaft 157 and primary transrnission shaft 177 rotateconjointly and the shaft 177 can swing relative to the shaft 157 aboutan axis defined by the outer ends 179, 181 of the pin 178.

The other end of the primary transmission shaft 177 is pivotallyinterconnected with one end of a secondary transmission shaft 187 by abolt 189 and nut 191. A fork 193 is secured Within the primary shaft 177and has outwardly extending parallel legs 195 receiving a projectingplate 197 of a plug 199 secured within the secondary shaft 187. The bolt189 extends through aligned openings in the fork legs 195 and the plate197 providing for conjoint rotation between the shafts 177, 187 andpermitting relative pivotal movement therebetween about the bolt 189 asan axis, which axis is parallel to that defined by the outer ends 179,181 of the pin 182. Suitable nonfriction material 201 may be position-edbetween the fork legs 195 and the plate 197 to facilitate easy pivotalmovement therebetween.

The other end of the secondary transmission shaft 187 is connected tothe primary lever 99 of linkagel 97 in a fashion similar to theconnection between the shaft 157 and the primary transmission shaft177.`Thus, the end of the secondary shaft 187 is crimped to snuglyreceive a folded midsection of a pin 202 having outer ends 203, 205extending radially outwardly of the axis of the shaft 187 indiametrically opposed relation (FIG. 4). The primary lever 99 has alaterally offset web 207 attached to the pivot 101 and an opposed pairof laterally extending flanges 209, 211, one on either side of the web207. A straight pin 213 extends through an opening in the fiange 209 andhas a laterally offset extension 214 fixed to the primary lever 99 bythe screw 142. The pin 113 is coplanar with the outer ends 203, 205 ofthe pin 202 and is interconnected therewith in spoke-lillre relation bya clip 219 substantially lidentical to the clip 183. The secondarytransmission shaft 187 and the primary lever 99 are thereforeinterconnected for conjoint rotation and the shaft 187 can pivotrelative to the lever 99 about an axis defined by the outer ends 203,205 of the pin 202.."I`his axis is parallel to the axis of the bolt 189and that defined by the outer ends 179, 181 of the pin 178 so that Wheni the Operating handle 153 is turned in a counterclockwise direction, asseen in FIG. 1, the shaft` 157 turns conjointly therewith causing thetransmission shafts 177, 187 to turn about an axis passing through thecenter of the clips 183, 219. During this movement, the remote ends ofthe transmission shafts 177, 187 pivot about the axes defined by the pinends 179, 181 and 203, 205, respectively, and the primary lever 99 isturned about the pivot 101 under a force proportional to a lever armdefined by the distance between the axes of the shaft 157 and the pin101.

Turning movement of the primary lever 99 effects manipulation of thelin-kage 97 as described above and linkage 97 interconnected therewithby the U-shaped bar '140 fastened to the primary levers 99 of these twolinki ages by screws 142 so that by turning the manipulating handle 153as described, the leg rest panel 94 is extended to the position shown inFIG. 9. When the handle 153 is turned in a clockwise direction, theparts m0ve-in the opposite direction and the leg rest panel 94 isretracted to the FIG. 3 position. v

When the Chair back 39 and seat 41 are reclined, as shown in FIG. 9, theseat 41 moves upwardly and forwardly relative to the chair base 23. Thismovement displaces the axis of the pivots 101 for the primary levers 99relative to the axis of the tubular shaft 157. Thus,

when the seat 41 is reclined, the transmission shafts 177, 187straighten somewhat by pivoting action thereof about the bolt 189 andabout the axes of the outer pin ends 179, 181 and 203, 205,respectively. In this reclined position of the seat 41, the leg restpanel 94 is fully movable from a retracted to an extended position byturning the manipulating handle 153 in the same manner and with the sameease as described above.

Thus, by the foregoing there has been disclosed an improved recliningchair calculated to fulfill the inventive objects set forth above andwhile a preferred embodiment of the invetnion has been illustrated anddescribed above in detail, various additions, substitutions,modifications and omissions may be made thereto Without departing fromthe spirit of the invention as encompassed by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A lounge chair having a seat, a back and a substantially horizontalleg rest panel, a first linkage means at each side of the seat forsolely supporting said leg rest panel for movement from a retractedposition tucked under said seat to an extended position spaced forwardlyand upwardly therefrom, said first linkage means being tso constructedand arranged as to maintain said leg rest platform substantiallyhorizontal in all of its positions, a base, and driving meanssupportably carried by said base for motivating said first linkagemeans, universal means interconnecting said driving means and said firstlinkage means.

2. A lounge chair having a seat, a back and a substantially horizontalleg rest panel, and first linkage means at each side of the seat forsolely supporting said leg rest panel for movement from a retractedposition tucked under the seat to an extended position spaced forwardlyand upwardly therefrom, said first linkage means being so constructedand arranged as to maintain said leg rest platform substantiallyhorizontal in all of its positions, a base, driving means carried bysaid base for motivating said first linkage means, said first linkagemeans, having pivotal means supported by said seat and said drivingmeans includes shaft means rotatably supported by said base.

3. A lounge chair as defined in claim 1 wherein said universal meansincludes first and second shaft means pivotally interconnected at oneend and having their other ends pivotally interconnected with saiddriving means and said first linkage means, respectively.

4. A lounge chair as defined in claim 3 wherein said first and secondshaft means, said first shaft means and said driving means, and saidsecond shaft means and said first linkage means are relatively pivotable-about parallel axes.

5. A lounge chair as defined in claim 1 wherein said first linkage meansincludes extendable link means pivoted to said seat and connected -tosaid leg rest, a first and second lever pivotally connected to said seatand extendable link means, respectively, and lost-motion meansinterconnecting said first and second levers.

6. A lounge chair as defined in claim 5 wherein said lost-motion meansincludes a slot formed in one of said levers, means fixed to the otherof said levers loosely received in said slot, and pivot meansinterconnecting said first and second levers.

7. A lounge chair as defined in claim 1 wherein said first linkage meansincludes extendable link means having hinge means pivoted to said seatand a portion connected to said leg rest and wherein said universalmeans is connected for conjoint rotation with said lever means.

8. A lounge chair as defined in claim 7 wherein said universal meansincludes a shaft means, pin means extending dametrically of said shaftmeans and rotatable therewith, clip means interconnecting said pin meansand said lever means for conjoint rotation and allowing said shaft meansto pivot relative to said lever means about an axis defined by said pinmeans.

9. A lounge chair as defined in claim 7 wherein said universal meansincludes shaft means, first pin means extending dametrically of saidshaft means and rotatable therewith, second pin means extendingdametrically of the pivot axis of said lever means and angularly offsetfrom said first pin means and pivotable with said lever means, clipmeans interconnecting said first and second pin means for conjointrotation and allowing said shaft means to pivot relative to said levermeans about an axis defined by said first pin means.

10. A lounge chair as defined in claim 1 wherein said universal meansincludes shaft means, pin means extending dametrically of said shaftmeans and rotatable therewith, clip means interconnecting said pin meansand said driving means for conjoint rotation and allowing said shaftmeans to pivot relative to said driving means about an `axis defined bysaid pin means.

11. A lounge chair as defined in claim 1 wherein said universal meansincludes shaft means, first pin means extending dametrically of saidshaft means and rotatable therewith, said driving means includingrotatable means, second pin means extending diametrically of the axis ofrotation of said rotatable means and angularly offset from said firstpin means and rotatable with said rotatable means, clip meansinterconnecting said fi-rst and second pin means and said driving meansfor conjoint rotation and allowing said shaft means to pivot relative tosaid driving means about an axis defined by said first pin means.

12. A lounge chair as defined in claim 3 wherein said first and secondshaft means each has rigid means secured for rotation therewith, and a'pivot pin interconnecting said rigid means.

13. A lounge chair comprising a base, a seat and a back, linkage meanssupporting said seat and back for conjoint movement relative to saidbase from a sitting position to a reclining position, said linkage meansincluding a crank having angularly spaced arms one of which is pivotedto said base, a link in said linkage means pivoted to the seat and tothe intermediate portion on said crank, a second link in said linkagemeans pivoted to the back and to said other crank arm, the tilting ofthe back rearwardly moving said crank arm to 'raise and advance saidseat forward.

14. A lounge chair as defined in claim 13 wherein said crank pivotingcounterclockwise during movement from said sitting to reclining positionand clockwise during movement of the seat and back from reclining ltositting position.

15. A lounge chair as defined in claim 13 wherein said crank is belowsaid seat and its counterclockwise movement raises its intermediateportion, the link and seat.

16. A lounge chair as defined in claim 13 wherein a pair of said linkagemeans is supported on each side of said seat and back and pivotallysupported on said base.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,95l,793 3/1934 Herman 297-782,046,644 7/1936 Martin 297-81 426,602 4/1890 Muhl 297-68 953,872 4/1910Urba 297- 2,126,098 8/1938 Ducrot 297-318 2,677,412 5/1954 Thomas297--318 X 3,099,487 7/1963 Knabusch et al 297-69 X 3,235,307 2/1966Knabusch et al. 297-69 X 3,269,769 8/1966 Mizelle 297-322 X FOREIGNPATENTS 198,879 4/1920 Canada. 602,342 12/ 1925 France.

JAMES T. MCCALL, Primary Examim'rg

1. A LOUNGE CHAIR HAVING A SEAT, A BACK AND A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLEG REST PANEL, A FIRST LINKAGE MEANS AT EACH SIDE OF THE SEAT FORSOLELY SUPPORTING SAID LEG REST PANEL FOR MOVEMENT FROM A RETRACTEDPOSITION TUCKED UNDER SAID SEAT TO AN EXTENDED POSITION SPACED FORWARDLYAND UPWARDLY THEREFROM, SAID FROM LINKAGE MEANS BEING SO CONSTRUCTED ANDARRANGED AS TO MAINTAIN SAID LEG REST PLATFORM SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALIN ALL OF ITS POSITIONS, A BASE, AND DRIVING MEANS SUPPORTABLY CARRIEDBY SAID BASE FOR MOTIVATING SAID FIRST LINKAGE MEANS, UNIVERSAL MEANSINTERCONNECTING SAID DRIVING MEANS SAID FIRST LINKAGE MEANS.